Physics ‘Big Quiz’ 2014

On Monday 27th January, twelve students from Year 9 went to the so-called Physics ‘Big Quiz’, an annual event held at the University of Birmingham in the Great Hall.

We left school in the minibus, and arrived at about 9:40. We then took our seats in our three teams of four, completing a Physics word search whilst waiting for all of the other schools to arrive. Once everyone had taken their seats we were given an introduction and the quiz began. There were six rounds in total. The last round was a specific round on the GAIA Satellite and the Milky Way; we were informed of this particular round before the event, so we could revise this topic.

After we had completed 3 rounds we had lunch, followed by a 45 minute lecture from an astrophysicist, which was very informative and enjoyable. Then, we completed the last three rounds. To finish we had the Awards Ceremony, where the top three teams each won medals. Each school could enter as many as three teams, which we did. Out of the 94 teams entered our highest placed team finished fifth, so there’s a challenge for next year’s Year 9 to improve upon this!

It was a great day out for all of us and we are hoping to have the chance to take part in any similar events in the future.

Caleb Brown

Footnote: The results were very tight indeed at the top end, with only a few points separating 1st and 6th places. Congratulations to Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School (my old school) for coming top!

Mr Jones